Summer Brennan presents an interdisciplinary and in-depth look into a conflict over an oyster farm. The problem is whether or not the Drake’s Bay Oyster Company should have its lease renewed to continue operations after 2012. The most impressive part of Brennan’s writing is her deep look into the history of Point Reyes and oystering on the west coast. Some of the most defined characters are long dead, like the original west coast oyster farmer, Captain Morgan. She also tells historical anecdotes that run parallel to the main story without directly playing a role in the main conflict, like the white deer that were once a problem in Point Reyes.
Brennan also creates great descriptions of the characters that interact through this story, many of which stand out as surely interesting people to meet in real life. Through this, some characters are much more sympathetic than others, and this definitely creates a bias against the farm. For example, the farm owner, Kevin Lunny, is not at all well fleshed out compared to the other characters and his most defining characteristic is how he claimed to be unaware that the lease was running out when he bought the farm despite documents showing otherwise. On the other hand, the first character to be well-defined is Oscar, an immigrant worker for the oyster farm who shows Brennan around the farm and loses his job because of it. He is treated very sympathetically even if Brennan doesn’t talk to him again. This creates a clear bias against the farm.
Brennan’s historical and character development show her humanities background. Other parts of the story are much less fleshed out. For example, she references scientific research often, but hardly goes in depth in it. She summarizes hundreds of papers about the Bay’s ecology by stating that results were inconclusive and that it doesn’t really matter anyways. However, the biggest omission was the economic concerns related to the farm. I kept waiting for her to explain how many oysters were being farmed, how many people worked there, what their wages and living conditions were, who was buying these oysters, and what there profit was like. She alluded to some of these but never provided the data that would play an integral role in my decision on whether the farm should stay open.
Summer Brennan paints an interesting and fairly thorough picture of the Oyster War, but it is not devoid of bias and it is not the whole picture. That being said, it is not necessarily meant to be. It is treated more as a casual novel than a scholarly report, and for that, Brennan succeeded in capturing my attention for the duration of the novel. It was an enjoyable read and made me want to learn more about the oyster business.